The Sweetest Sound
by NoelleWynters
Summary: Words were something many took for granted, but there was one that he would never tire of saying. It was like music every time he spoke it.


_Standard disclaimer applies: I own nothing, this is all for fun._

It was such a simple thing, something most would take for granted but for him it was absolutely wonderful. At times, when he was certain she could not hear him and wonder about his mental functioning, he would repeat it a few times in awe. The sound of saying a name, instead of master, was the most amazing thing.

Cyrus had no idea how long he'd been a genie, the years had eventually blurred to the point he couldn't keep track. Time seemed to be something mortals kept track of the passing of, as a genie he had no need to watch the days pass to never be seen again. He was as he was, and would remain that way. He had no idea if he would one day die, or if he'd live until time came to an end. It wasn't something he gave much thought to either.

He glanced over to see Alice standing over by the water, attempting to skip rocks across the smooth surface. For the most part she was succeeding, but every once in awhile they did nothing but sink with a bit of a splash. She was far enough away he could whisper her name every so often, once again marveling at the sound of it.

The fact she used his name amazed him as well; he'd given up a long time ago on giving anyone who found him his name. There was no point, they never called him by it, he wasn't a person he was a piece of property therefore it made sense to be called nothing but genie.

That isn't to say he didn't long to be called by his name, he did have one although he wasn't sure exactly why. When he'd first woken up inside his bottle he'd known two things: he was a genie and his name was Cyrus. For the longest time he would give his masters his name, in a futile hope they would call him by it but it was always a foolish hope.

The last time he'd ever said his name to a new master, he realized quickly why they never addressed him by it; they never heard him utter it. The look in the eyes of that new master was the same as every single one before him, once he'd given them their wishes to be used as they pleased, within the laws of magic, they tuned out to anything else he said. They were too busy thinking about everything they could possibly have due to the wishes and completely ignoring the very human looking being standing before them.

Maybe he expected too much, just because he looked like them did not mean he should be treated the same. Slowly he pushed all those expectations and hopes down and did as was expected; grant wishes. That was his sole purpose in life after all.

Every so often he'd come upon a master who would call him by his name, but many times he wouldn't always respond, so unaccustomed to hearing it. When they'd ask for his name it would take him a moment to realize what they'd requested of him, and even when they said it he would take a few minutes to realize they were actually calling him 'Cyrus' instead of 'genie'. But they did not like him slipping up and calling them by their name. No matter what, they were 'master' and he was to never address them otherwise, barring the odd exception but they were few and far between.

And then along came Alice, the first person to ever walk right into his bottle and discover his existence. He'd been woken by the sound of people shouting, and the loud footfall they made, but that was nothing new. He'd become accustom to those sounds, and had had every intention of going back to sleep until he heard someone pulling on the cork to his bottle.

It struck him odd that he wasn't feeling the usual pull that came with that action. Instead, daylight spilled in and he saw someone crawl into the neck of the bottle. He considered at first saying nothing, and leaving the girl to whatever she was doing. She was obviously hiding from someone, or something, it likely would be unwise to startle her.

But then he was curious about her, why was she the same size as him? She couldn't be another genie, and he'd never heard of humans that small. Finally, despite thinking it likely wouldn't be wise, he turned on a light and asked her what exactly she was doing.

Once she'd finished threatening to destroy his home they'd fallen into easy conversation and he found himself even more fascinated with this girl who had walked into his life. The strangest thing to him was the fact she had more interest in simply talking to him, she hadn't even asked for her wishes. It seemed they didn't even matter to her, or she hadn't realized what exactly she had found. Even when he'd informed her she was his mistress all she'd done was smile and still not ask for her wishes.

Slowly he began to realize she wasn't the same as everyone else who had found him. She was looking for a companion on her travels, not something to grant wishes.

And then the most amazing thing happened: she continued to call him by his name and was not bothered when he called her by hers.

That amazed him, more than he'd ever admit. He found himself saying her name whenever there was an opportunity for it, as the sound of it was like music and was the most freeing thing he'd felt in a long time. He wasn't being told to call her 'mistress', she insisted on being called 'Alice' and he loved saying her name.

The sound of her voice pulled him out of his musings, and he glanced over to see she'd exhausted skipping rocks, or become bored of it, and was walking towards him. Her smile was bright, and he could feel a strange warmth come over him at the sight of it. There was something about her that just brought a feeling of contentment and happiness to him, and he hoped she'd not bore of him. One day, she'd likely use her wishes and he'd move on to someone else, but he was determined to enjoy this time while he could, as well as say her name as often as he could.

She reached out and took his hand in hers, and began to lead him back down the path they'd taken to the water's edge a few hours earlier, all the while suggesting they should find somewhere safe to stay for the night. The sun was sinking low in the sky, painting the bright blue of the Wonderland sky with shades of purple and pink, marking the end of the day was drawing nigh.

He nodded in agreement, a bit of a smile gracing his face.

"Yes, Alice."

_AN - Set out to write something else and this happened. I ran upon something online in which it was pointed out Cyrus says 'Alice', a lot. I had noticed myself but it didn't bother me, I thought it rather sweet. And so, this happened._


End file.
